Jurgen Klopp was delighted after Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium but stressed the need for a transfer at some point.
Despite the performance on the pitch, January transfer talks are never far away. Liverpool’s current line-up was in high spirits after the mixed side secured victory against Arsenal at the Emirates. But with success in four competitions, it is tempting to choose to enter the market.
It grows in your hand.After all, this is not the first time Jurgen Klopp has achieved a quadruple. Of course, it’s not the Champions League in this case, but Liverpool manager Luis Dias sees the value of the move after playing a key role in the 2021/22 campaign.
Klopp will therefore be inclined to rely on his experience from the second half of the season when assessing Liverpool’s transfer needs. This has been an injury-plagued campaign and it is this threat that has the greatest potential to derail a back-four attack.
Klopp has to ask himself: does he have enough depth on the pitch? Arsenal’s victory could again be interpreted as a yes. Liverpool won without Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, as well as Dominic Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas. With the scores still tied, the manager called on Bobby Clarke and Conor Bradley, but neither looked deep.
But at the same time, there were times when Klopp was genuinely concerned and talked about the need for a transfer to be addressed in January. Jarrell Kwanza, who filled in for Van Dyke on the day, made no mistake this time but went down in the first inning. It was an unsettling moment.
Quansah enjoyed emerging-team status but were ultimately only given the chance here, with Joel Matip out for the season and Joe Gomez playing at left-back.
If they had a problem, Liverpool would be in real trouble and you can tell by the look on Klopp’s face that he knows it.Fortunately, the youngster was able to play on and Liverpool’s defense showed their raw health by keeping a clean sheet.
But it was a stark reminder of how quickly things can unravel and a strong case for signing a centre-back in this month’s transfer window.
But there’s a problem, and it comes in the form of Quansah himself. Klopp has previously said that any injury-related signing should make sense once he is fully fit, but it is unclear whether that standard is fully met here.
Meanwhile, even if Matip returns from injury, his Liverpool career could be over. The club could extend him, but his role would certainly be reduced. Van Dijk is actually quite a bit older than his former partner and while he hopes to stay at the top level for a long time, a long-term successor will be on the club’s transfer agenda.
But Quansah’s injury raises questions. Will another defender come in and break the line of scrimmage? So Liverpool really want to cheat a player who has been perfect this season and even boasted a player like Van Dijk?
